Watching Vim walk away, I strangely felt a little uneasy.
"Coming Renn?"
I nodded gently to Saphra, but was slow to actually do so. My eyes wouldn't leave Vim's back as I watched him walk down the hallway, and they lingered on the end of it when he finally rounded the corner and disappeared from view.
He was too calm. Too… normal.
He'd just co to let know that we'd finally be leaving in the morning. For real this ti. No more distractions, as he had said… but he had done it with a small smirk. With a tone he usually used for when he was flirting with , definitely not one he should be using for the here and now.
Vim was typically a calm man. Even when pressured or stressed, he nearly always kept his cool… until, as far as I could tell, only a couple things happened.
The first and most obvious thing that could unsettle him was . Or rather, our relationship. Especially during particular monts… though those monts were usually the types that made him smile and freak out in a way that was concerning. Unlike the only other thing happened to make him uncomfortable.
Gods.
Or well, his past. His secrets. And those were all connected to the gods, the ones he hated. Even just ntioning them in light conversation, even from long ago before when they were actually sothing we needed to worry about, he had always gotten weird because of them. At first I had simply thought he had been weird concerning them, going quiet or avoiding their topic completely, because he had been ashad or wanted to keep secrets… but now I know it was pretty much purely hatred.
Vim hated the gods. To the point it made him… unlike himself.
Yet...
The gods had showed up. Renka was scheming and sothing… really big was brewing, though I had no idea exactly what it was yet, and… By all rights Vim should be on edge. On guard. Furious, maybe, even…! This was the kind of mont where I'd most expect Vim to act out. To beco less his typical stoic self…
Yet instead he was acting… so nonchalant. As if Renka had never showed herself. As if he hadn't just killed a god, Casper, and so much more! The last couple days Vim has seed… too indifferent to be believable.
It was almost as if…
"Renn?"
My ear twitched as I nodded again and finally turned around as to follow my new scaly friend.
Saphra had a concerned look on her face as she gave a tilt of her head, the one half covered in glistening scales. "Is all well, Renn?" she asked, and as she did I noted again the ever so tiny lisp in her voice. She had no obvious visible deformity, but instead had one hidden in her mouth. One that she had shown on our first eting, since we had awoken her and she had yawned wildly in front of as I said hello.
She had a tongue far longer than any other I'd ever seen. It was not just long and skinny, it was also forked. And it was undoubtedly the reason for her small vocal slur of certain syllables and words… but it was no surprise, really.
She was a snake. And not just in na.
"Does it hurt, Saphra?" I asked as I walked over to her and glanced downward.
"Does what hurt?" she asked back as she glanced around herself, looking worried that sothing was now wrong with her.
"Walking…? Or well… slithering? On stones?" I asked with a small point downward.
"Ah. No. You're not the first to ask," she said with a small giggle. As she did she shifted ever so slightly that caused her lower body to coil and bring her around as o face directly. As she did so, her lower half which was in the form of a snake, noticeably to my ears slithered along and over the stone floor. And did so surprisingly loudly, as well. "I faintly rember it tickling when I was younger, but now I don't even notice or feel it. In fact I more so notice when the floor is hot or cold instead, more than anything else," Saphra said as the very tip of her tail, the end of her body where her feet should be, lifted up as to wiggle at .
It had sothing of a sock on it, though it seed not to keep it clean but maybe instead warm… I'd yet to see the very edge, the tip of her tail, ever touch the floor.
The rest of her lower body, past where her robe ended not far from the ground, was naked. As much as a snake could be, at least. She had a pretty green color, which was darker on the top of her body and lighter on the bottom, with these oddly shaped black blotches that seed to be all over her in random places.
She went from human to snake around her midsection, though thanks to her always wearing the thick robes of the church I wasn't really sure where it happened or to what degree. From her chest upward at least, she seed perfectly human in shape… though she had patches of scales all over her, though most of the patches were small in size enough that I'd bet less than half of her skin, on her human half at least, had scales.
Saphra also had beautiful hair that glimred green ever so faintly, as if it was reflective sohow. The neat color made jealous, but it only added to her difficult life.
Saphra, unlike many of our mbers nowadays, had absolutely no way to blend in with humans. Not only was her lower half snake-like, she had too many scales and also had very obvious eyes of a non-human. They were so blatantly snake-like, especially her pupils, that I doubted even the most obtuse human wouldn't notice them.
"I guess that makes sense… scales are tough, and even I can walk barefoot in rough ground without much issue," I said thoughtfully as I studied her tail.
I'd touched… or well, caught and eaten, plenty of snakes in my life. The larger ones were typically much more stout and hardier than most would assu for things that felt so smooth to the touch. Saphra was likely the sa, if not even more sturdy, thanks to being what she is… and so big.
She nodded at . "Growing up, my parents use to tell that I'd shed and when I did I'd be vulnerable. But I've never shed before, ever. Not once," she said.
"Not once…?" I frowned at that and wondered why. So of the other mbers with scales shed sotis, so I'd been told… Plus didn't a snake need to shed to grow…? Maybe it was because she was so thick in the blood, or sothing?
Saphra shook her head. "I'm thankful for it, I'm told it's unbearably itchy. And not in the good way," she said.
Right…! "Like getting fleas!" I said.
Saphra giggled, with tiny hiss sounds joining it, as she nodded. "I bet!" she said, telling she had no idea what having fleas felt like but was willing to agree all the sa.
She then turned and gestured for to follow her, and I made sure to do so this ti.
I'd ponder Vim's oddness later. If anything I should be glad he wasn't acting too… strangely. Even if it was more strange that he wasn't.
It was almost as he had solved sothing. Usually he got the way he was when we left a location, after solving a problem or avoiding another one entirely. He relaxed. He smiled comfortably, as if he had no care in the world…
Hopefully he hadn't found and killed Renka… I'd not seen her since our little morning tea ti earlier.
"Hey Saphra!"
We passed a couple of won, ones carrying laundry baskets. Saphra didn't respond, she simply nodded as we walked past them. I though made sure to wave and greet them properly, even if I wasn't sure their nas.
It felt weird. To not know everyone by na and face. And I knew in ti, such a thing wouldn't happen anymore… so I should enjoy the feeling of eting and encountering new people and things, but it still made feel bad.
I'd spent so much ti lately, as a way to distract myself from all the chaos happening, eting and spending ti with everyone. Those I'd known and those I didn't. Yet still there were so many I hadn't spent any ti on at all… and it made feel like I wasn't doing my job properly.
Not that it was my job to get to know everyone. In fact, I'd noticed quite a few of our newer mbers seed a bit distant… to the point I had already made a decision to not bother certain ones much if at all. I wasn't sure if they had felt uncomfortable around because I was a predator, or Vim's wife or so other reason, but I wasn't going to force my presence on anyone and make them feel uncomfortable.
I had actually expected Saphra to be the sa. Not just soone like , who made certain mbers of our Society wary, but also soone who would not want to bother them too much. Especially after our first eting, since it had been so short, but here I was… getting invited to have dinner with her.
"I'm glad you agreed, Renn. When I do get hungry, I can eat a lot, but even I can't finish a whole pig on my own…!" Saphra said as we rounded a corner.
Smirking as I thought of the pigs I'd nearly eaten in full with Vim, one a few days ago, I nodded. "I'll help you finish tasty food anyti, Saphra," I said.
"That's good to know, but you only need to worry about it every so often. I only eat once every few months," she said.
Oh…? "Why's that?" I asked.
"Just how I am, I guess?" she said.
Wonder if it had anything to do with the how she slept all the ti.
Saphra supposedly slept a lot. Not just during the dayti, but… sotis for days on end. I'd even been told by Mapple, the one who had introduced to her, that Saphra had reportedly slept nearly the whole trip here from the other continent. Saphra had claid the ship, sailing and rocking on the waves, had lulled her into sleep.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Considering, as I've been told, that it took more than a few months to get here on those ships that was quite a feat…
"Are your dreams really nice?" I asked. I think I had way too many bad dreams too often to ever sleep so much, even if I was able to.
Saphra slowed a little, and I made sure not to step on her tail since I caught up to her because of it. "To be honest not really. I dream of my family a lot more than I want to admit," she said.
Although she had answered promptly, and with a small smile, I could hear the tiny pain in her honesty. She was very understating the aning of her words, likely. Though if it was because sothing terrible had happened to her and her family, or because they had been abusive and cruel like my own I couldn't tell… and knew better than to pry without first getting to know her better as to make sure it was okay doing so.
"Is it a weather thing, then? The reason you sleep so much?" I asked, choosing to direct the conversation that way.
Saphra's smile grew a little. "Because it had just been winter, and thus cold, you an?" she asked.
Well… "Plus you'd been out at sea, right? The western one? I've lived on, or along at least, that sea myself before. I know how chilly it can get there sotis even during the sumr. I was just wondering if weather bothered you a lot or not, so of the other snake-folk I've t have said it does," I said, thinking of those up at Twin Hills.
"Mhm…" she humd a mont, and then shrugged ever so slightly. "The cold does annoy , but I'm not sure that's why I sleep so much," she said, and then promptly returned to walking… or rather, slithering.
"You phrased that as if you're implying you really don't know why you sleep so much," I noted.
"Because I don't. In fact… I don't think my family had slept as much as I do either," she said as she thought about it for a mont, and then nodded. "Yeah… don't think they did."
Why was she acting as if she's never even considered such a thing before…? "Does it bother you?" I asked.
"That I sleep a lot…? Not really. It annoys when I have to be woken up, because we have to move or I need to do sothing and people are tired of waiting for , but other than that I don't really feel as if I do anything too odd. I'm probably just used to it… plus it's not as if I ever have much to do anyway, you know? It's not like I have kids or a real job, at least not yet," Saphra said.
Not yet…? Wonder if she ant that for the kids part or the job part. "Mapple did ntion they drew straws when it cos ti to wake you. Are you grouchy when so?" I asked. When I had t her the other day for the first ti she had been sluggish and drowsy, but had woken up a short ti before I had arrived… so I had not gotten to see exactly what she was like directly after doing so.
"I'm told I can be snippy, yes. But it's always hard to tell if I am or not, since so many who say so are those who flinch at even a look or a lick," she said.
Lick…? "Was that a joke, or do you actually lick people?" I asked with a smile.
Her long tongue slithered out, wiggling a little at as we neared the smaller kitchens at the end of the hall. We weren't heading to them, but instead the room just beyond them that had open tables for everyone to eat at, though. "A bit of both?" she said, a little joyfully.
"Good thing I bathed this morning, then!" I said, wondering if she'd try it with or not. I figured she was mostly joking, but it was likely also stemming from sothing honest. Did she lick people though, as if in because she wanted to taste them and then eat them, or for another reason I wonder?
Saphra giggled at that as we passed the kitchens. They were empty, but it wasn't a surprise. These were the smaller ones down here in this section, and it was after dinner ti. Long enough so that odds are the only kitchens to be used any ti soon would be the main ones, the ones in the center of the community area down here beneath the Cathedral.
"I'd not try to eat you, Renn. I think I like you," Saphra said with a tone that told she was as happy about it as she was confused.
Humbled, I smiled and nodded as we neared the last open room in this hallway. I allowed Saphra to enter first… so she could then choose where she wanted to sit first, what with her body being the way it was, and I glanced around… and was a little disappointed to find out we were alone.
"I like you too, Saphra… though if you do one day attempt to do so, don't feel bad. It wouldn't be the first ti a snake has tried to eat ," I said as I scanned the room, and the empty tables and chairs throughout it.
Off in one corner was our table, one that had a familiar glistening pig upon it. There were cups, pitchers and plates of other foodstuffs, but it was clear that no one else had eaten any of it and… odds are wouldn't.
Had she not invited anyone else? Or had she done so, and I had been the only person to accept…?
If so then I felt bad about Vim not joining us. He had ntioned he'd return eventually, but knowing him he'd wait until the al was long over. He didn't care much for eating in groups, maybe he had thought this would be a big group event too as I had…?
"I've heard you like drinks made from berries. I got a few, but if you don't mind I plan to drink spirits instead," Saphra said as she slithered over to the table.
"Feel free… I'd join you, but I have to drink a whole lot to feel anything and I've not found any that taste good enough in my opinion to drink just to drink," I said.
"You don't like spirits…?" Saphra asked, slightly slurring the word as she did as she went to pour what I assud was so kind of alcohol into a cup. It looked… rather clear though. Maybe it was just water? Or sothing really watered down?
"I've tasted a few that don't bother , but… when given an option between them and this stuff?" I shook my head with a smile as I picked up a pitcher that had the familiar red juice I so loved. "Yeah, this wins every ti," I said as I went to pour so for myself.
She giggled at that as she put down her own pitcher, and then raised her cup towards . I noted the intent, and once my cup was full enough I too raised it up as to clink it against hers.
"For the Society!" I said happily. It's been a while since soone had done this with ! Last ti had been at SilverCreek, the night we had put up our tents!
Saphra tilted her head at after I cheered, and then she snickered with a hiss. "Ah, right. Yes, that used to be a common saying, huh? Personally I'd rather toast to friendship, but that's fine too!" she said as she then took a drink.
As I took a drink too, I squinted a little at my new snake-friend as she drank from her cup. It was hard to tell, since her wooden cup was one of the bigger ones… but she looked as if she was outright gulping the stuff down. That might though be because of her tongue. Maybe, thanks to its size, it was difficult for her to drink?
She finished drinking with a happy and content sigh. "Not bad…! I asked Mapple to also get sothing strong, either the humans have gotten better at making spirits or all this ti I've been drinking watered and distilled stuff! Wouldn't surprise , knowing all them!" Saphra said, though did so with cheer, as she then went to… sit down. In her own way.
I watched as she pulled over a bench, one of the lower ones… that I typically saw the larger mbers sit at. Either in height or width. She though didn't so much sit down on it as she did slither up onto it, and along it… as if she was walking along it as she would the floor. She stopped slithering near the end of the bench, and a good chunk of her tail remained on the rest of it before it fell back down to the stone floor.
Although it was an odd sight, to see her basically lying long on the bench… it made perfect sense. It allowed her to easily sit up against the table, and in a way that didn't look uncomfortable or awkward. Plus it didn't force her to have to just sit or stand up against the table without a chair, either.
Taking a seat myself, a little across from her so I could make sure I could grab and move plates and other stuff for her if she requested anything, I went ahead and watched her pick up one of the larger carving knives and gesture with it at the glistening pig.
"You said you ate one of these recently? Sorry about that… I had just asked Mapple to get sothing big and tasty, if I'd known you recently had this I would have asked for sothing else," Saphra said.
"Don't apologize, I love their food," I said, thinking of The Walking Pig. "It was nice of Mapple to get all this for us, though," I said. Wish I would have known, I would have helped. This had likely been difficult to bring here and set up, sothing that had likely taken her quite so ti.
"She owes a few favors, so it's fine," Saphra said happily as she went to cutting into the pig.
Oh…? Wonder how she had earned those… what with Saphra having been on the other continent this whole ti…
"Starting without , are you?"
I perked up, and Saphra paused in her cutting as Mapple walked into the room.
A weird, happy, tingly feeling filled as Mapple walked right up to the table and chose a random chair. One across from , closer to Saphra than not.
So we wouldn't be alone! How lovely, I was starting to worry that maybe Saphra was… ostracized. Even though others had greeted her, and spoken well of her amongst the few I'd spoken to about her, it had been concerning … especially since she was one of our very few mbers who was so… well…
Non-human.
"I doubt even I and Renn could have eaten this that quickly, even if you had been a little late!" Saphra said.
"Then you underestimate not just her, but yourself…" Mapple said with a sigh as she went to fill up a cup with the sa stuff that Saphra was drinking.
"Renn could eat two of these, honestly."
I startled, as did Mapple and Saphra. Saphra luckily had the knife deep in the pig, and as such didn't hurt herself, but Mapple had jumped in her chair to the point she spilled and splashed what was likely half of her drink all over herself and the table.
"Vim…!" I shouted at Vim, angrily, as he sat down next to . On my right, as to not put himself between and Saphra.
"Sorry…" Vim gently apologized as he half stood up and grabbed a towel as to go about helping Mapple clean up what he had caused her to spill.
"How the heck did you get there, Vim? I was even just looking at her and you weren't there at all!" Mapple complained as Vim wiped up the spill and she patted at her lap with her own towel.
"And they say I'm sneaky," Saphra complained.
"Sorry…" Vim apologized again, this ti sounding a bit more genuine as he did. Not that his earlier apology hadn't been real.
I sighed at him, though I had a small smile as I did so.
I was glad he was here. Mapple joining us had also been a good thing, but now with him here it felt like an actual little get together.
Plus it told he really was calm. If he was high-strung, because of Renka and all the other on-goings, he would have definitely avoided this dinner… the fact he hadn't told a lot.
"Just for that he gets fed last," Saphra said as she rose up a little and went to distributing so of the at she'd just cut from the pig.
I too stood a little, as did Mapple, as we moved plates around as to let her do so. I noted that even though she had just said such a thing, she had not hesitated to put so thick and big slices on a plate for Vim… though she did do so after the rest of us already had ours.
"In so cultures being fed last is a sign of respect," Vim said as I handed him his plate.
I glared at him as he took it, smirking at as he did, and Saphra sighed. "If you ever decide you're done with him and want to eat your husband Renn, let know. I'll help," Saphra offered.
Unable to resist the huge smirk and the happy giggles that ca from that, I nodded. "Promise to do so!"
"Can we not talk about eating each other while we eat a pig?" Mapple asked.
My smirk died a little. "Pig…?" I asked quietly, wondering if it was possible I was misunderstanding… or…
"Ah, no. I'm not a pig. But my mother was," Mapple said quickly, noticing my confusion.
Oh…! The saint! Or well, one of the singing sisters. I wasn't sure yet if Mapple's mother had been a real saint yet, or just soone like the Chronicler.
Saphra snickered a hiss. "There's no sha in eating those you love, Mapple! If anything it's one of the most complinted things you can do!"
Complinted…? Odds are that wasn't the right way to phrase that, but I didn't correct her… especially since it might have just ca out weird because of her hiss. "My family would have said the sa… or would have eaten us out of pure spite, either or," I said.
Vim sighed at us. "Careful, Renn. She's a water boa. An anaconda. She's one of the few things on this planet that can actually hunt and eat you and get away with it," Vim warned.
"Gosh, Vim…! I'd never!" Saphra complained, with a very thick hiss as she did. In a way that told she actually took offense to his comnt.
I though couldn't help but smile excitedly. "That makes us equals!"
"And you all wonder why no one else ever joins us…" Mapple said with a sigh as she went to take her first bite.
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